Storage and discharge container with rotatable base or wall



Oct. 23, 1956 G. A. GROSS 2,767,384

STORAGEAND DISCHARGE CONTAINER wrru ROTATABLE' BASE 0 WALL Fiie 00. a,1951 Y -2'Sheets-Sheet 1 INVENTOR F 6' 5 GUSTAV ADOLF GROSS ATTORNEYSOct. 23, 1956 e. A. GROSS 2,767,884

v STORAGE AND DISCHARGE CONTAINER WITH ROTATABLE BASE OR WALL Filed061;. 5, 1951 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 A079 H 6 iwa 03 K! /7 I4 ,1 J I4 Q2 w L 4J, X 1 3 *5. Y

FIG. 7

INVENTOR 4i GUSTAV ADOLF GROSS ATTORNEYS United States Patent STORAGEAND DISCHARGE CONTAINER WITH ROTATABLE BASE 0R WALL Gustav Adolf Gross,Basel, Switzerland, asslgnor to Ciba Limited, Basel, Switzerland, aSwiss firm Application October 3, 1951, Serial No. 249,447 Claimspriority, application Switzerland October 6, 1950 8 Claims. (Cl.222-168) This invention relates to improvements in containers for thestorage and discharge of materials.

In many instances the problem arises to store, for a more or less longtime, loose materials which have a tendency to cake together, in such amanner that at any time, as desired, a more or less large quantity ofthe stored material can be discharged in a simple manner from thestorage container. This problem may arise for example in connection withhygroscopic salts. The problem is evident to a considerable extent inthe chemical industry in relation to the temporary storage of ice. Inthis case it is true that there is frequently available in the icefactory an apparatus for crushing in a convenient manner the bulk icewhich is manufactured in coarse blocks or also in relatively thin rods,for example of only about 2 to 5 cm. in thickness. However if such iceis stored in storage containers, which may contain for example fromabout 100 kg. to several tons, on account of regelation or also onaccount of the fact that the interior of the crushed pieces of ice stillhas a temperature of below 0 C., a more or less compact mass soon formsI in the storage container, which mass can only be manipulated withdifliculty. Other loose materials also have a tendency, under the weightof a considerable mass or under other unfavorable circumstances, to caketogether and then to be very difiicult to discharge.

In accordance with the present invention the abovementioneddisadvantages are avoided. According to the invention a storagecontainer for the storage and discharge of loose materials having atendency to cake together, comprises a container wall and a containerbase forming a closure therewith, the container wall being unconstrictedfrom the top downwards and the container wall and container base beingrotatable relative to one another and the container base being providedwith one or more openings fitted with superposed hood or cowl coverings.

The container wall must not be constricted at any point in a downwarddirection, as otherwise on caking together of the loose materialblockages are to be feared, which render impossible a descent of theloose material. In many cases it is sufiicient if the interior breadthof the storage container remains constant from top to bottom, in othercases it may be of advantage if the interior breadth increases somewhattowards the bottom. Any considerable increase of the interior breadthfrom the top to the bottom is as a rule neither necessary noradvantageous. The storage container may have a circular section, i. e.it may be of cylindrical or truncated conical form, or also an angularsection, for example in the form of a' quadrilateral or hexagon. In theapplication of circular section storage containers it is in many casesadvantageous to provide on the interior of the container a verticalguide device, for example in the form of guide plates which arevertically arranged and prevent a circulating movement of the loosematerial relative to the container wall. The base of the container canbe horizontal or ICC somewhat inclined or have an upright or invertedconical form, advantageously with only a small base angle.

The covered openings of the base are suitably so arranged that in therelative rotation between base and container wall every part of thecontainer cross section is swept by at least one covered opening in therotation. The method of covering the openings must be such that, onfilling the container, loose material does not tend to fall directlythrough the openings. This condition is naturally only fulfilled whenthe conical heap formed on filling, the shape of which depends amongother things upon the nature of the loose material, does not extend overthe edge of the hole, that is to say when the angle of inclination ofthe plane passing through the extreme edge of the hole covering and thecorresponding edge of the hole, is less than the angle of repose of theheap formed by the loose material.

The covering for the holes are further constructed with advantage suchthat they possess lateral closed walls and are only open in th directionof rotation of the base relative to the container wall. The lateralclosed Walls can then at the same time considerably increase thestability of the cover constructions According to the thickness of theplates, the edges of the top or side Walls of the covering, or both canbe sharpened in order to increase the breaking or cleaving eifect, suchsharpening being advantageously effected so that the inclinationeffected by the sharpening is on the outside (or top). Moreover thewhole construction of the covering for the holes is suitably so selectedthat the interior width thereof, measured in any direction including theinterior width of the openings in the base, is at all places at least aslarge or advantageously larger, than at the place where the breaking orcleaving effect takes place. This facilitates an undisturbed passage ofthe material through the coverings and openings of the holes.

The rotation relative to one another of the container base and thecontainer wall can be brought about, according to the circumstances, insuch a manner that either the container wall is stationary and the baserotates or the base is stationary and the container wall rotates. In thesimplest case the base and container wall can be in coaxial relationwith one another. This is however not absolutely necessary. In the caseof angular containers the base is advantageously so constructed that italways covers the greatest distance across the container section.Tightness between base and container wall is not necessary, so that, ifdesired, a considerable intermediate space, for example of a depthwithin the height of the coverings of the holes, may exist between baseand container wall.

According to the nature of the loose material to be stored, it may beadvantageous to suit the size of the holes and of the coverings over theholes to the approximate size of the fragments of loose materialcontained in the storage container. Thus, for example, in the storage ofice as a rule one does not have to deal with a situation in which thealready crushed ice congeals within the storage container to acompletely homogeneous mass; it is rather the case that in the cakingtogether fusing takes place at surfaces or even at points of contact ofthe individual ice fragments, which fusing requires relatively littleforce to disrupt it.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawing in which:

Figure l is a vertical section and Figure 2 a horizontal section througha stationary storage container with rotatable base,

Figure 3 is a vertical section through another modification of a storagecontainer of the same type,

Figure 4 is a vertical section through a container base which has aconical form,

Figure is an enlarged section on the line C--D of Figure 1, andillustrates a suitable form of the coverings for the holes,

Figures 6 and 7 are vertical and horizontal sections respectively,through a storage container with rotatable container wall and stationarybase.

In all the figures 10 indicates a suitable supporting surface, 11 thecontainer wall, 12 the container base, 13 the coverings for the holes,14 a vertical guide device constructed as a guide plate and 15 anelectric motor used for the drive. In Figures 1, 3 and 4, 16 indicatesthe supporting bearing of the rotatable base, While in Figure 6 thesupporting bearing for the container wall is indicated by 17. In thecase of large storag containers of this type the bearing the peripheryof the The loose material shown in cated by 18.

The method of operation of the storage container is as follows: Theloose material is introduced into the storage container from the top.After it has remained therein for some time and may in somecircumstances be partially caked together, the electric motor 15 isswitched on; it rotates, by way of a suitable geared drive, thecontainer base in Figures 1 to 4 or the container wall in Figure 6.Owing to the relative movement between the grab-like hole coverings 13and the loose material 18, the loose material will penetrate the holesin the direction of the arrow 1 so long as the motor maintains therelative movement. As soon as the motor is switched off the descent ofthe loose material ceases. The desired direction of rotation is shown inFigurm 2 and 7 by the direction of the arrows 2 and 3, the coveringsnaturally having an edge which extends in the direction of the relativerotary movement of the base with respect to the container wall.

The present storage container offers especial advantages, particularlyin the storage and discharge of ice, because it is possible by suitableselection of the speed of rotation and also of the size and number ofthe covered openings, to discharge accurately measured quantities of theloose material from the storage container. It is surprising that even inthe case of large storage containers no forces aris which would lead tothe destruction or rapid wearing of the individual parts of theapparatus or which cannot be overcome by the application of customarydriving mechanisms.

What is claimed is:

1. A storage container for the storage and discharge of loose materialswhich have a tendency to cake together,

base (not illustrated in the figures).

Figures 1, 3 and 6 is indirace is advantageously arranged at 1 saidcontainer having a container wall and a container base forming a closuretherewith, the container wall being unconstricted from the top downwardsand the container wall and container base being rotatable relatively toone another and the container base being provided with openings fittedwith superposed cowl coverings directly attached to the said containerbase and extending over the entire area of said openings and extendingtherebeyond in the direction of relative rotation of the container basewith respect to the container wall, said cowl coverings being open insaid direction of relative rotation, the angle formed by the edge of thecowl covering and the edge of the opening beneath the cowl coveringbeing less than the angle of repose of the loose material within thecontainer.

2. A storage container as claimed in claim 1 of cylindrical form.

3. A storag container as claimed in claim 1 of truncated conical form.

4. A storage container as claimed in claim 1 having a vertical guidedevice for preventing circulating movement of the material.

5. A storage container as claimed in claim 1 in which the container wallis stationary and the base rotatable.

6. A storage container as claimed in claim 1 in which the container wallis rotatable and the base is stationary.

7. A storage container as claimed in claim 1 in which the coverings ofthe openings of the container base have lateral closed walls.

8. A storage container as claimed in claim 7, in which the coverings ofthe openings of the container base have sharpened lateral closed walls,the sharpened surfaces of which are inclined outwards.

References Cited in the tile of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS335,152 Sheldon et a1. Feb. 2, 1886 673,662 Schwechler May 7, 1901969,204 Shaver Sept. 6, 1910 1,025,513 Craven May 7, 1912 1,807,807Swords June 2, 1931 1,992,783 Smith Feb. 26, 1935 2,581,562 Smith Jan.8, 1952 2,601,940 Marcellus July 1, 1952 FOREIGN PATENTS 453,010 GreatBritain Sept. 3, 1936 524,811 Great Britain Aug. 15, 1940

